Forgotten Newcastle United man returns from injury with January transfer expected

Newcastle United youngster Garang Kuol is once again playing on Tyneside after a knee issue derailed a possible summer move away for the Australian talent.

Kuol, 20, joined the Magpies to much fanfare back in 2022 but is facing an uncertain future under Eddie Howe after two underwhelming spells away from the club. The attacker struggled at both Scottish side Hearts and Dutch outfit FC Volendam, with Howe initially hoping to loan him out for a third time during the recent summer window.

A January move is expected should Kuol stay fit, with the former Barcelona target building his fitness behind the scenes at Newcastle. He was involved in Tuesday's National League Cup clash with Tamworth, where the Magpies' under-21 side won on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time.

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Kuol lasted 68 minutes during the match with the National League opposition, building on the 62 minutes he played for Newcastle's youngsters in the EFL Trophy defeat to Mansfield Town last month.

The Socceroos star hasn't featured in any Premier League or Premier League 2 squad this season, with Diarmuid O'Carroll's Newcastle side currently sat 11th of 26 in the under-21 division.

Kuol arrived in England with seemingly unlimited potential as former sporting director Dan Ashworth swooped to sign one of the hottest young talents in world football two years ago. The ex-Central Coast Mariners star featured at the Qatar World Cup, months before his Newcastle move became official - but now he faces a crossroads in his relatively new career after failing to live up to the hype on Tyneside.

"It's always very difficult to say for certain what's going to happen with a player at this stage because there's a long way to go before the season starts," Howe said over the summer when quizzed over Kuol's imminent future.

"But possibly another loan spell for him will be important. He's had a couple of loan spells now but I think he needs the next one to be a successful one. We need him to play more game time. Hopefully, that'll happen."